Omsk Deputy Faces 6 Years in Fraud Case

Omsk city council deputy Inna Gomolko, former legislative assembly deputy Darya Bikmayeva, and her assistant Yevgeny Tolstopyatov face prison sentences. All three are accused of fraud.

According to the regional prosecutor’s office, from October 2021 to December 22, 2023, Gomolko and Bikmayeva — at the time a legislative assembly deputy — fictitiously hired Tolstopyatov as Bikmayeva’s assistant. Gomolko was serving as Bikmayeva’s public assistant.

As a result, they embezzled 1.8 million rubles ($20,000 at current exchange rates) from the legislative assembly’s payroll fund. Bikmayeva and Tolstopyatov have fully admitted guilt, while Gomolko denies everything.

«In reality, the man did not perform any work duties, and the defendants stole the more than 1.8 million rubles paid out as wages».

«At the request of the investigation, the court seized their property worth more than 7.6 million rubles ($84,400). During closing arguments, the state prosecutor proposed that the court sentence the organizer of the criminal scheme — the former deputy assistant — to 6 years in prison, and the other participants to 4 years in a general-regime correctional colony, along with fines of 700,000 rubles ($7,800) and 500,000 rubles ($5,600) respectively», the prosecutor’s office noted.

Additionally, Gomolko, Bikmayeva, and Tolstopyatov may be barred from holding positions in state service for two years.